How It Falls Apart
by Zeea
Summary: A slight twist on the world of Roswell
1. Chapter 1

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Title: How it Falls Apart Author: Zia Rating: Mature – Adult themes, and content not intended for younger readers Summary: A slight twist on the world of Roswell

Chapter One

The infamous spike-haired Michael Guerin was sitting in his usual booth, at the Crashdown restaurant in the infamous Roswell, New Mexico. Brooding as usual. He was hunched over a piece of paper, studying it intently, ignoring the rest of the world, as usual.

"What Michael?" Max Evans sighed, sliding into the booth across from his friend. Max brooded as well, even more so since Liz Parker, the girl he'd fallen in love with the second he saw her on the first day of third grade, was killed four months ago in a shooting at the restaurant. They rarely came to the Crashdown diner anymore, but Michael had called him, and told him to meet him there.

"I've been having these dreams." Michael told him in a hushed tone, the excitement evident, as he pushed the paper across the table. "Look."

Max's eyes focused for a second. "What is this?"

"I think it's from our home." Max picked up the paper, inspecting it closer and then ripped it in half.

"What did you do that for?!" Michael snapped following Max as he got out of the booth and headed for the door.

"Get over it Michael. This is our home, deal with it." Max's voice was quiet, and angry.

"This is all because of Liz Parker isn't it?" A moment later Max's fist slammed into Michael's nose. He stumbled backwards and Max stormed out of the diner. The few patrons in the restaurant watched the scene cautiously.

Maria DeLuca had been watching the confrontation between the two as she had was getting a drink for another table. She set the coke down on the table and hurried to Michael's side. "Oh god, are you okay?" He tried to brush her off but she didn't let him. She bypassed his table and dragged him into the back room.

"I'm fine." Michael sputtered through the blood dripping from his nose.

"No you're not. He broke it." She pushed him back onto the couch. "Stay." Then she rushed into the kitchen and grabbed some ice and a towel before hurrying back to him. "Tip your head back a little." She told him and leaned one knee on the couch. Carefully she pressed the ice wrapped towel against his nose.

She watched him for a several moments before going up front to give a customer their change. Maria came back and sat beside him on the couch. "Need some aspirin?"

"I'm fine." He told her. Then they just sat there for several long moments.

"Thanks Maria." She mocked him. "No problem, Michael, just call me Dr. DeLuca." He glanced over at her and she raised an eyebrow. "Why'd he hit you?" He shrugged touching the bridge of his nose gently. "Something to do with this?" She asked pulling the ripped piece of paper from the front pocket of her apron. He snatched it away quickly. "What is Antar?"

"Thanks for the ice." He muttered and jumped up from the couch and stormed out the door.

After work, Maria walked home, protectively holding the other half of the paper, of Michael's drawings in her hand. "Need a lift?" A voice called and she turned to see her brother pull up to the curb.

"Thanks Kyle." She climbed into the car and stared out the window.

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked, noticing the strange vibes coming off her.

"Max Evans punched Michael Guerin at the Crashdown." Maria told him, not turning to look at him.

"You call dad?"

"No, Max took off. I got Michael some ice. He broke his nose."

"You should have called Dad. He'll freak when he finds out."

"He isn't going to find out Kyle." Maria insisted.

"Maria-"

"Kyle. I said no." Kyle grumbled softly and pulled into the driveway.

"He worries Maria."

"That's exactly why he can't know." Maria climbed out of the car and rushed into the house and down the hall to her room. She locked the door behind her and pulled the paper out of her pocket. She laid it out on her bed and began smoothing out all of the little wrinkles. The drawings ranged in size and they were beautiful and interesting. What were they? Why did he get so defensive? What exactly was Antar?

Maria folded it up carefully and tucked it into the bottom of her underwear drawer. Neither Kyle nor her father dared tread there. It would be safe.

Days passed. Michael hadn't been coming to school. Max was there, but Maria was too intimidated to approach him. Max had always seemed so friendly, but he seemed more and more angry at the world.

"Alex." Maria slid onto the bench beside him, where he was tuning his bass.

"Maria."

"I need your help.

"Oh this can't be good. I won't get arrested again will I?" He asked and she bit her lip guiltily. "Oh the things I do for the woman I love." He got up and followed Maria from the table. "What is it?"

"I need Michael Guerin's address."

"Why?" Alex asked suspicously.

"Because I do. I'll tell you later. Please!"

Alex groaned. "Guard this with your life." He thrust the bass into her hands and headed for the office.

Ten very long minutes later he reappeared with a piece of paper in hand. "I'll go with you."

"No you won't." Maria told him.

"You are not going to the trailer park alone. Your father will skin me alive and turn me into a new pair of boots!"

Maria rolled her eyes and snagged the paper and gave him back his guitar. "I wouldn't let him."

"You can't stop him if you're dead!" Maria kissed his cheek and rushed off without another word.

Maria chewed on her lip as she walked through the dusty trailer park. One-Fourteen was the trailer she was looking for. When she spotted it she was a little taken back. Michael lived there? She took a deep breath and walked up to the door and knocked. No response. She tried to peer through the window and then almost fell off the step when the door suddenly swung open. An older man appeared, wearing worn boxers and a t-shirt. "Um... I was looking for Michael... Michael Guerin."

The man pushed open the screen door farther and Maria cautiously walked inside. "Who knows where Mikey gets to these days." The door slammed shut behind her and she yelped.

"If he's not here, I'll just come back later." She said softly.

"No. I don't think you will." The man grinned, and Maria felt her stomach sink.

Michael trudged across the lot, kicking a stone as he went. Maria had been right. His nose was broken. He avoided school, avoided Max avoided everyone. The front door was locked when he got to the trailer. That was strange. He frowned, but at least Hank's truck was gone.

He pushed open the door and instantly smelled blood. He knew it was something bad. Very bad. "Maria!" He yelled seeing her prone body face down on the floor. Laying in a puddle of blood. One knee was bent, the angle slightly odd. In her right hand was a knife, the tip broken off. Her left hand was near her face. She was completely still. "Oh god, no Maria." He grabbed the phone and touched her cheek. She was barely warm. "Open your eyes Maria. Look at me!"

One eye cracked open a little. "Micha-" Her voice cracked. "My dad is going to kill me." She whispered.

"I think he will spare you." He dialed 9-1-1 and told them the address before hanging up.

"I'm so sleepy." She murmured.

"No. Keep your eyes open. Look at me." Michael was kneeling beside her, pushing a lock of hair back from her face.

"Don't leave me." She whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere. What were you doing here Maria?"

"I was worried about you. Hadn't seen you in days." Her voice was barely a whisper, and her eyes were starting to slip shut.

He was in awe. She was worried about him? "Open your eyes Maria." Carefully grasping her left hand. Her eyes fluttered open again.

"Michael?"

"What Maria?"

"Do me a favor."

"Anything." He told her, and he meant it.

"Kiss me."

"What?" He asked surprised. That was definitely not what he was expecting her to ask him.

"Please?" It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Harder and harder to even breathe. And she had never been kissed, not really kissed anyways.

He leaned down and ever so gently brushed his lips against hers, for a moment she kissed him back, before her eyes slid shut and her hand went limp in his. "No! Maria! Baby!" Michael honestly didn't know where the endearment came from, but he would never take it back.

The sirens were suddenly there. Paramedics burst through the door. One of them froze at the realization that it was Jim Valenti's daughter. We're fucked, he thought as he stared down at the girls prone body. They were careful as they loaded her onto the gurney. When they did, they discovered a large gash on the right side of her face, and what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the belly.

"I'm going with her." Michael said, and they didn't dare argue.

In the ambulance as they tried to revive her, one began asking questions. Whose house was it? How did he find her? Who might have hurt her? What his relationship was to Maria De Luca?

Jim Valenti was annoyed. Hank Whitmore had stumbled in drunk and bleeding profusely from a stab wound that had somehow managed to miss every major organ, but still required surgery to remove the tip of the blade from the inside of one of his ribs. "Mind explaining how it happened?" Jim asked again, and the drunk man just grinned. "I give up." He muttered and walked out of the emergency room.

A moment later he heard yelling as the doors slid open and several paramedics rushed in. Jim was frozen. "No." He whispered. Maria was laying on the gurney covered in blood. One of the men was compressing her chest while another helped her breathe.

Michael came running in behind her. "Tell me what happened." Jim demanded.

"Hank Whit-" Jim didn't let him finish. He bolted back to the room he'd just come from and punched Hank so hard he fell off the bed.

"Sheriff!" One of the nurses exclaimed.

"If she dies, you die." Jim growled and stormed back out. Hanson stood there wide eyed. "Arrest him." Jim said before rushing after his daughter.

Two and a half hours later Jim was pacing anxiously across the waiting room floor. Kyle was shoving candy bar after candy bar in his mouth. Alex was shaking his head, and mumbling no every now and then. Michael sat apart from them, but every bit as anxious. It seemed like it had been forever when the doctor finally came out.

"How is she?"

"She is still critical. She has lost a lot of blood." He told them.

"Will she live?" Jim asked.

"We just have to wait and see. They will be moving her to the ICU shortly and then you can see her." After a little while a nurse came and said they could see Maria.

"You boys go ahead, I'll be right there." Michael could feel their eyes on him. Kyle and Alex watched for a moment before disappearing down the hallway. "Tell me what happened?"

"I don't know, Sheriff." Michael hung his head.

"What happened from the time you got there?" Michael took a breath and recounted the events. From walking in the door, smelling the blood. Finding Maria on the floor. Her being worried that Jim would be mad, and having been worried about Michael himself. Everything up till arriving at the hospital.

"What happened to your nose?" Jim asked.

"A friend punched me." Michael said awkwardly.

"Not a very good friend."

Michael shrugged. "She's really nice, you know? Nicer than anyone I've known. She was looking for me. It's my fault she was there. I never thought she'd come looking for me."

"She cares about people. I'm not surprised. But it wasn't your fault. Come on, let's go see how she is doing." Jim guided Michael down the hallway to her room. She was hooked up to machines with tubes and cables. She was so pale. The gash on her face was bandaged as was her right hand.

Alex had buried his face in her shoulder, his shoulders were trembling. Kyle held her hand gently, his thumb rubbing over her wrist. "Come on, baby girl. You've gotta wake up." He whispered.

Jim cleared his throat and both men looked up. Jim walked over and pressed his lips to his daughter's forehead and sighed. "Wake up beautiful." But there was no response, save for the beeping of the heart monitor. "Why don't we step outside for a moment." Jim said and ushered Kyle and Alex out of the room.

Carefully Michael walked over to the bed, not wanting to disturb anything. "Maria... Can you even hear me? Or am I just being stupid? This never should have happened. Hank is supposed to be my problem. No one elses." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jim sat beside Maria's bed hours later. It was the middle of the night and no one could bear to leave her. Kyle and Alex had dozed off in chairs not far from Maria's bed. Michael had grown restless and wandered down the hallway, but Jim knew he wasn't going far. Jim was restless too, but he couldn't bring himself to let her out of his sight. It was an all to familiar situation for him. Seven years earlier, when Amy DeLuca had been shot.

Amy had been closing up the shop for the day. It was Maria's birthday, and they were going to spend the day together, go to lunch, shopping, having fun. But on her way out to her car Amy realized that she had left Maria's present stashed under the counter in the shop. She was already running late, so she had hurried, she ran inside, not bothering to lock the door behind her. A man had followed her inside, demanded money, and when Amy didn't grab it fast enough he shot her and took the money himself.

One of the secretaries at the school had called Jim when no one came to pick up Maria. So Jim came, picked up Maria, and Kyle and took them back to the Sheriff's station. Hanson had tried to keep them entertained with cartoons and root beer floats. He left them there, while he went out looking for Amy.

He drove past her shop, the front door was part way open, her car parked in front, the trunk open. With a frown he parked his car and headed towards the front door. He wasn't prepared for what he found. Amy laying on the floor, covered in blood and barely conscious. "Amy!"

"Jim?" Her voice cracked and she looked up at him as he came to kneel beside her. "Where is Maria?"

"She's fine, she and Kyle are at the station, terrorizing Hanson." Jim told her, pushing a lock of hair back from her face. She smiled a little and let out a sob. "You'll be fine Amy. You're going to be fine." He grabbed his radio and called for help. "What happened? Can you tell me what happened?" He was pressing one hand against the wound on her belly, while the other was gently stroking her cheek. The two had started dating several months earlier, and Jim knew it was headed somewhere serious.

"A man... I forgot Maria's present. Oh god, this can't happen. Not on her birthday." Amy cried quietly. "A man, he demanded money. I didn't get it fast enough. He shot me... oh my baby girl..."

"Shh, you'll be fine Amy. You'll be fine."

But she wasn't fine. They took her to the hospital, and she'd gone into surgery and slipped into a coma. And Jim was left trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. "I want my mom." Maria had whined later that day when he went back to the Sheriff's station. She was bored, and tired. And she and her mom were supposed to go out and do stuff.

"Maria..." Jim sighed. "Maria, there was an accident earlier." The little girl just stared at him. "Your mom, she... got hurt."

"Is she okay?" The tears were evident in her voice.

"Come on." Jim lifted the small girl up onto his hip, and took Kyle's hand and took them out to his jeep and drove to the hospital. Maria had cried and cried when they got there, and he did his best to explain what was happening to the nine year old girl.

That night Jim had tucked Maria into Kyle's bed, and Kyle had come in, and handed a stuffed rabbit to Maria, one he'd slept with when he was younger. She had taken it gratefully. Kyle slept in Jim's room, and Jim slept on the couch. His phone rang around three am, a doctor telling Jim that Amy had died. And Jim was faced with the realization that Maria was alone now.

Jim sighed and looked at the girl who he had raised as his own child. His own daughter, and he loved her. He didn't know what he would do if she died. Actually, he did know. Hank Whitmore would be a dead man, that is for sure. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, silently praying to anyone that might listen, to spare Maria's life.

A moment later he heard a quiet, garbled gasp. Then a sob. He jumped up quickly and saw Maria's eyes open, pain written across her face, her hands grasping at her stomach. "Maria?" He whispered and lightly touched the side of her face.

"Daddy?" Her voice was broken. She sounded so scared.

"It's okay, Maria, baby girl, you're okay."

"Hurts." Jim nodded and hit the call button beside her bed, a few moments later a nurse appeared. Jim just kept lightly stroking Maria's face, trying to comfort her.

"We'll give you some pain relievers sweetie, you'll feel better soon." The nurse reassured her as she slid a needle into the IV that was hooked up to Maria's hand.

Several long moments later Maria's breathing had calmed slightly. "Is Michael okay?" She asked clutching her father's hand.

Jim was caught off guard for a moment. He hadn't expected that to be the first thing she'd ask. "He's fine Maria. He's here, he's worried about you." A small smile graced her features, before transforming into a painful grimace.

"Maria?" Kyle asked a little confused seeing his dad leaning over Maria's bed. A second later he realized she was awake. He jumped up and rushed to her other side and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I swear..." He sighed. He knew he couldn't get pissed off at her for this. She wasn't the one at fault for this. "You're okay?"

"It hurts... pretty bad." Maria told him.

"You'll be better soon." Kyle kissed her forehead again and sighed with relief.

A second later Alex joined them around her bed and gently squeezed her hand. "See, you're not a new pair of boots, Alex." Maria gave him a small smile, and Alex let out a quiet strangled and painful laugh.

"No... I guess I'm not." But he was right. She'd gotten hurt. He'd known she'd get hurt if she went there.

Michael stood in the doorway, watching the scene before him. He wasn't part of that family, he didn't belong. Maria was alive, she was okay. That was all that mattered. Hank hadn't managed to kill her. And he was grateful for that. No one deserved to have to put up with Hank. He let out a quiet sigh and stepped back from the door. She was alive. So it was okay. He turned away from the door, not sure where he was going to go now. He could go to Max's. Sleep on the floor. But could he? Michael decided that was his best bet. Hank was in jail, so if that didn't work, he could stay at the trailer, if the cops had left.

The next day, somewhere in the middle of the school day, Alex and Kyle had escaped, with Maria's notes and assignments in hand for the next week, and a few bonus items for her. Chocolate, and her favorite tea. "I'm so bored." Maria whined as she munched on a piece of the chocolate. "What would I do without you guys?" Her voice was soft, she was still in a lot of pain, and she was tired. But she couldn't wait to get out.

"Be even more bored?" Alex suggested walking over and kissing his friends cheek.

"Have you guys seen Michael? Dad said he was here last night... but... he never came back in."

"He must have left." Kyle shrugged.

"Find him, please?"

"Maria, Dad will find him, don't worry about it."

"I can't help it. I am worried. Max... he..." Maria sighed. "I'm just worried about him."

"Why did you go out there in the first place, Maria?" Alex asked. He still blamed himself, he got her the address, and he knew he shouldn't have.

"Last week, Michael and Max got into a fight at the Crashdown. Max broke Michael's nose. So I was worried about him when he didn't come to school."

"He never comes to school."

"But he'd usually come into the Crashdown at least. He didn't come in. So I went to find him. I found Hank instead." Maria shuddered, and both boys reached forward and grasped her hands.

"He's in jail, you don't have to be afraid of him." Kyle tried to reassure her.

"I just want to know that Michael is okay." The boys sighed.

"I'll call dad." Kyle told her as he got up and grabbed his phone.

A few hours later, Maria was sitting in her room, bored out of her mind, propped up on several pillows. The TV was too far away for her to see anything, and the volume was too low. So she had taken to scribbling on a piece of paper, rather than working on her homework. She just wanted to go home. She hated hospitals. She was terrified of them. And she figured it had a lot to do with her mom, and Liz.

"Hey." A voice caused her to jump, and pain ripped through her. She winced and looked up.

"Michael." She couldn't contain the relief in her voice.

"Hey." He said again stepping a little ways into the room. "How do you feel?"

"I'm okay..." She shrugged a little. "Sore."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. Hank... he... he was my problem. He never should have been yours."

"He hit you." Maria said giving him a serious look. "And I hit him. And... he hit me back." She let out half of a bitter laugh. "He said he'd hit you, and I got really mad. I was so angry. And I hit him. As hard as I could. He back handed me. Then I saw the gun. I tried to get out, but he was in front of the door. That's when I went for the knife. It was just sitting there. On the table, like it waiting for me to grab it." Maria reached up and lightly touched her cheek. "He hit me with the gun. I don't even remember stabbing him. But, my dad said I did... the blade broke. Inside of him. Then I remember seeing the gun again... and thinking..." Maria bowed her head.

"Thinking what?" Michael asked moving to sit in the chair beside her bed.

"Hoping... that you wouldn't come home and get caught in the middle of it. I guess I got my wish." She smiled a little. Michael had saved her life. If he had come home any sooner, they'd probably both be dead. "And you saved my life." Maria reached over and gently grabbed his hand. "You saved me."

"I didn't do anything..."

"Yes you did." She told him and shifted on the bed. "Help, please." She wanted to lay down, but it was so difficult to move. Michael quickly jumped up and helped her, shifting the pillows, cradling them around her body. "What is going to happen to you now?" Maria asked as she lay on her side.

"The Sheriff... he talked to me today, he's going to help me get emancipated, and get my own place." Michael sat back down and looked at her.

"Really?" She smiled. That was the best news she had heard. She reached out and grabbed onto his hand. "That's great."

"Yeah." He nodded and looked at their hands.

And they just sat there in silence. Michael was content to know that she was okay, and Maria was happy that he was with her. "Hey, Michael?" Maria said after a while. She was feeling sleepy.

"Yeah?" He asked, lightly rubbing his thumb along her knuckles.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy." She whispered.

"Why?" Michael asked and leaned forward a little.

"You kissed me." She murmured.

"I did. You asked me to."

"I did." Maria grinned tiredly. "I saw things." She whispered.

"Saw things?" Michael was suddenly listening very carefully to every word she said.

"Stars. And planets. It was beautiful." Her eyes slid shut a little. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Never."

"Do you believe me? That I saw things?"

"Maria... you were dying. You probably just imagined it."

"Kiss me." She whispered. "I want to see it again." Michael obeyed, because he wanted to know if she would see it again. Why did she see things in the first place? Slowly he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "No stars." She pouted a little as she pulled back, her eyes slipping shut the rest of the way. "Michael?"

"Yeah?" He asked, stunned.

"Don't leave."

"I won't." He told her and kissed her forehead softly. A moment later her breathing evened out and she was sound asleep. Michael stared at her. She may have not seen anything, but he did. He swallowed hard. Maria, as a little girl, playing dress up with Liz Parker, sitting on the front step of her house, trying to tie the shoe laces of her red sneakers. Crying in Jim Valenti's arms. Hugging Kyle, with a stuffed bunny tucked under her chin.

Michael brushed some hair back from her face and then sat back in the chair. What did it mean? Did she really see things when he kissed her before? Why then and not now?

A few hours later Kyle walked in, a small plastic bag in hand. "Hey."

"Hey." Michael echoed. He watched as Kyle walked over to Maria's bed, and produced the same stuffed rabbit from the flashes, from the bag. He carefully tucked it into Maria's arms, she shifted for a moment, and then a smile spread across her face.

"I gave it to her after her mom died... she's slept with it ever since." Kyle told him and lightly brushed some hair back from Maria's face."I hear you're getting emancipated."

"Yeah."

"Good." Kyle paused for a moment. "Where are you staying until then." Michael shrugged a little.

"With Max I guess."

"Evans... the guy that hit you." Michael looked up. "Maria told me. Look, I know your court date isn't for a few more days, if you need a place to stay, you can stay on our couch."

"Thanks." Michael said, a little taken back. These people barely knew him, and his foster father was the reason Maria almost died, and they were still being nice to him. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A week later, Maria was finally released from the hospital. It was her first day back at school, and she was miserable. People stared. Rumors were flying around about what had happened. She'd been caught in a gang fight. Shot by a jealous lover. The worst one was that she'd been shot by her father, when he found her in bed with Michael.

She hurt everywhere. Kyle was stuck in football practice for the next hour, so she had to wait for him to drive her home. But it was her free period so she headed outside and smiled a little spotting Michael sitting at a table in the shade. "Hi." She said walking over.

"Uh... hey."

"Mind if I sit?" She asked.

"No, not at all. How are you feeling?" Michael watched as she slid carefully onto the seat beside him.

"Sore. I'm ready to go home. I'm surprised to actually see you at school though."

"Conditions of my emancipation. I have to be here." He shrugged and Maria grinned.

"I'm proud of you." She told him. And she was.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. No one had ever been proud of him before. "So you waiting for Kyle?"

"Yeah. He's stuck in some stupid football practice thing until next period, so I've got to wait. Since I'm not allowed to drive... not that I think I could anyways."

Isabel Evans was confused. She was standing near the side door leading out to the courtyard, and spotted Michael sitting at a table, with none other than, Maria DeLuca. Since when were they friends? Since when did Michael talk to anyone, other than herself and Michael. She had heard the rumors about Maria getting shot. And she'd heard somewhere along the line that Hank Whitmore had been arrested.

She hadn't seen much of Michael in the last two weeks. She knew he and Max got into a fight. But then Michael had just sort of disappeared, and that was normal. But hanging out with the Ditz Maria DeLuca?

"Would you come over today? After school? Kyle has his game, Alex has band practice, and dad is working."

"You want me to come over?" Maria nodded.

"Please?"

"Um... sure." Michael scratched his eyebrow and Maria smiled a little.

"Thanks."

A moment later Kyle appeared. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah." She nodded, suddenly remembering how tired she was. Kyle helped her to her feet, and they both waved a goodbye to Michael.

Michael watched them go, Maria casually glanced back and smiled at him. He was confused as hell. How had he suddenly become one of their friends? And Maria... she wanted him to come over?

"Alright, Michael, what the hell is going on?" Isabel hissed as she suddenly appeared beside him.

He glanced up at her and then shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean!? What do I mean!? I mean DeLuca! And Valenti! Since when are they you're friends and where have you been for the last two weeks?"

Michael sighed. "Max and me got into a fight."

"I knew that." Isabel told him, a little annoyed.

"Maria saw it. Apparently she got worried. She went looking for me."

"She what?" Isabel hissed.

"I wasn't home. Hank shot her. Almost killed her. Hank is in jail. I got emancipated. I have my own apartment now."

Isabel looked at her friend in shock. How had she missed all of this? "You have your own place?" She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Michael, that is so great." Then she sighed quietly. "What is the deal with you hanging out with DeLuca and Valenti though? They're the Sheriff's kids."

"You think I don't know that?" Michael snapped. "Look... I am the reason she got shot." He shook his head and quickly got up from the table, leaving a stunned Isabel behind.

Michael left the school campus in a rage. He knew that they were different, that hanging around the Sheriff's kids was probably a bad idea. But Maria seemed to generally care. They weren't faking nice like all of Isabel's friends always did. He was the one that always said they couldn't get entangled. They couldn't expose themselves to anyone. But there was just something about Maria.

About an hour later he found himself on their front door step. Kyle's car was gone from the driveway, so he took a breath and knocked.

"Coming." He heard Maria call from inside. He heard her groan in pain and flinched. That was his fault.

"It's me." He called back.

"Michael?" He could actually hear the happiness in her voice. "I'll be right there." He heard the door unlock a moment later, and then it slowly opened. "Hi." She smiled at him. "You cut class."

"Yeah." He nodded a little and followed Maria when she gestured for him to come inside. "You uh... wanted me to come over."

"Yeah." Maria nodded sinking down on to the couch, she patted the seat beside her. "Come here." Cautiously Michael joined her on the couch. "Look, I can't get that kiss out of my mind. Or what I saw... and I knew I'd seen it somewhere... parts of it. I know I saw things when you kissed me. I wasn't imagining it."

"Maria..." Michael scratched his eyebrow.

"Michael." Maria took a breath and handed him a folded up piece of paper. "You grabbed the other half from me that night... but the rest was still in my pocket." She watched as he unfolded the paper. "I saw this." She said pointing to one of his drawings. "I mean, I really saw it."

"Maria... what are you talking about?" He asked suddenly feeling nervous. Was it possible?

"When you kissed me. That is what I saw. I saw stars... they were beautiful. Like I was flying through space. I saw this." She tapped her finger against the picture.

"Maria... there is no way. It just... it isn't possible."

"Why not?" Maria snatched the paper from him. "I know what I saw Michael." Before she knew what was happening Michael's mouth was on hers. His hand cradled the back of her neck, and his tongue invaded her mouth. Maria grabbed onto him, her hands gripping his shoulders as she kissed him back passionately. And as quickly as the kiss started, it ended. Maria was breathing harder, staring a Michael.

"See anything when I kissed you?" He asked, and the realization dawned on Maria. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, her fingers tightening around the paper. "Didn't think so. It was your imagination, Maria." She heard him get up and the front door closed a second later. As soon as it did, the tears began to fall.

A month passed before things began to go back to normal. Maria was healing slowly, she was back to work at the Crashdown for a few hours a week, but she could handle sitting through classes again. Kyle and Alex seemed to watch her every move, worried that she might break or something. Which, she didn't really blame them, after loosing Liz only five months ago, to have come so close to loosing another friend. She couldn't blame them for worrying.

Maria was in the back room grabbing the bag of sugar so she could refill the glass containers up front when she heard yelling. With a sigh she peeked out the door and saw Michael and Max. Her jaw dropped when she saw Max shove Michael backwards. The bag of sugar slipped from her hand and she rushed up front. "Get the hell out!" She yelled. It was late afternoon. The diner was completely empty. "You will not hit him!" Maria yelled as Michael righted himself back up.

"Back off Maria." Michael shoved Max back and Maria was livid.

"Both of you knock it off!" She shrieked and moved to step between them, at the worst possible moment. Max's fist, aiming for Michael's jaw was blindsided by Maria. She shrieked and tumbled backwards against Michael before landing on her ass.

"Oh shit, Maria!" Max yelped. "I am so sorry." Max started to move to kneel beside her.

"Get out." She hissed.

"What?"

"I said, get the hell out, before I call the cops." She ground out every word, her eyes glaring daggers at Max. She watched as he straightened up again, and then took a step back before disappearing out the front door. Michael had never moved from her side. He carefully grasped her arm, and she tried to shrug him off.

"Knock it off DeLuca." He grumbled pulling her to her feet. He led her into the back room and cupped her face, carefully inspecting the swelling over her cheek. He vanished into the kitchen for a moment then reappeared with a towel and some ice. "Let me see." He said tilting her head to the side. Michael carefully pressed the towel to her face and she flinched.

A tear rolled down her cheek and Michael sighed softly. "Why did you get in the middle of it?" He asked sitting beside her, one hand still gently holding her chin, while the other held the ice to her cheek.

"I wouldn't let someone hurt you. He's supposed to be your friend."

"He's only friends with me by default, sames goes for Isabel."

"It doesn't give him the right to hurt you." Maria snapped and turned her head away.

"Maria..." Michael sighed.

"Just leave."

"What?"

"You made it pretty clear you really didn't want much of anything to do with me last month. So just... go." She sighed softly. Her hand gently touched her cheek. They were going to flip. Her dad, Kyle, and Alex. They would completely freak out when they saw it.

"Maria that isn't-" Michael cut himself off. What did he care? With a sigh he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "We're leaving."

"What?!" She asked looking around the still empty restaurant.

"Gimmie your keys, we're going for a drive."

"What? Michael! I can't just leave!" He stopped half way through the diner. Jose was in the kitchen skimming over a magazine.

"Yes you can." He dragged her outside, and over to the red Jetta parked near the diner. Finally she handed him the keys and climbed in the car.

Maria watched in awe as Michael placed his hand against the rock and suddenly a doorway appeared and opened, letting them into a rock cave. Once inside, Michael pressed his hand to the rock again, and they were engulfed in darkness. Panic filled Maria. She couldn't see anything. "Michael?" Her voice sounded unusually high.

"I'm right here." A soft glow suddenly filled the room and Maria let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm really... confused." She whispered.

"I know." Michael sighed, and gently cupped her face. She felt a slight tingle against her cheek, and then it faded. Maria sighed contentedly and her eyes slid shut. He couldn't resist leaning down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. When he pulled back she looked upset. "What is it?"

"Those... flashes... Maybe I really was just imagining it."

"Maria..." Michael looked at her, in the dim light, she looked so torn. Was he really going to tell her the truth? He'd already brought her this far, how could he not? But when he was the one, that all along said they couldn't get involved. They couldn't tell anyone. Why did he think Maria would be any different? Because he saw inside of her. "I don't think you imagined it." His voice came out softer than he meant it to. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Maria, this is where I was... born."

"Born?" Maria looked around, and finally noticed the four sacks attached to one wall of the cave.

"Hatched... whichever you prefer." Michael watched as Maria walked up to the sacks and rested her hand lightly against one.

"You're not human."

"No."

"What are you?" She asked, turning to look at him. He looked human.

"Well, lets just say the '47 crash was real." Michael watched the realization cross Maria's face. Her eyes went wide for a moment, and then she was just looking at him. With her deep green eyes.

"No." She shook her head. "No, I don't believe you. It's not true. It... it can't be."

"Maria, look around you. We're inside a cave, that I opened with my hand." Michael snapped, and then instantly regretted it. He could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Shit." He sighed. "Look, Maria, I didn't mean-"

"Just shut up, okay?" Maria snapped at him. She slowly slid down to her knees on the floor of the cave and sighed. "What about the other three pods? Who was in them?"

"You're not scared of me?" Michael asked moving to sit beside her.

"Why would I be?" Maria asked shaking her head a little.

"I'm one of those scary things, that people make horror movies about... that this town is known for."

Maria didn't speak for a long moment before closing the distance between them. She kissed him tenderly, barely letting their lips meet. "You saved my life. Why would I be afraid of you?"

Michael nodded and pushed some hair back from her face. "You're..." He shook his head a little. She was amazing.

"The other three pods... whose?" She watched him scratch his eyebrow. "Max and Isabel." He nodded a little. "Who else?"

"I don't know. It was just the three of us." He shrugged a little, and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. She relaxed in his arms and they stared up at the green pods. When did this happen? When did he get attached? Why did he tell her anything? He could have just ignored her, pretended nothing ever happened. He was the one that always tried to convince Max and Isabel they had to just stick together. No one else. Michael closed his eyes at the thought of Liz Parker, that day in the Crashdown. The day she was shot and killed. The day this little innocent, pixie of a girl watched her best friend die. Maybe he should have let Max heal her. But Maria's voice pulled him from those thoughts.

"Do you guys come out here often?"

"They don't know about this place. They don't care, they don't want to go home. All they care about is their life on Earth. They don't care where we came from, or who we are."

"But you do? Sorry, stupid question. Can I help you? Find anything?"

"I don't know." Michael sighed.

"The flashes when you kissed me... those were real, weren't they?" He nodded. "Why did you lie?"

"I wasn't sure if they were at first. But then..."

"Then what? I haven't gotten them since... maybe I was just imagining it."

"You weren't... because I saw things when we kissed." She looked up at him suddenly.

"Saw what?"

"You." He reached out and trailed his palm gently along her cheek. "As a little girl, trying to tie the laces on your red sneakers."

"You're kidding, the red sneakers?" She smiled, and felt the tears stinging her eyes. "My mom bought those for me... I was so excited. My first pair of Converse." Maria laughed softly, then lowered her head. "She died on my birthday." Maria whispered. She never talked to anyone about what happened. Not even Kyle, or Jim. "My birthday, of all days. I haven't celebrated one since." She sighed heavily and laid her head on his chest. "I can't go home. The bruise... Dad and Kyle, and Alex... they'll completely freak out."

"It's gone." Michael told her touching the side of her face.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Don't you have a mirror or something?" Maria nodded and pulled the small mirror from her purse and gasped softly, then looked at Michael.

"You..."

He scratched his eyebrow. "I'm not so great at healing, but I can do little things, when I'm really focused."

"Thank you." She whispered and kissed him softly. "Why don't I see things now? Why just that one time?"

"I really don't know." Michael shook his head a little. He didn't understand. Was it because she'd been so close to dying? Or maybe, he'd been so scared for her, that he'd been able to send them her way or something. "It's getting late, I should get you home."

"Okay." Maria nodded and pulled herself up off the floor. They pulled up in front of the Crashdown, and the Sheriff's car was in front, as was Kyle's car, and Alex's. "I'm screwed." She breathed out.

"I kidnapped you." Michael said with a shrug. They climbed out of the car and headed inside.

Jim was pulling Maria into a hug first, thankful that she was alive, and unharmed. Then he was livid. "What the HELL were you thinking just taking off?" He yelled.

"Dad." Maria whispered. "I'm sorry." She bowed her head and then looked back up at him.

"It's my fault, sir." Michael interjected. "I kind of... kidnapped her, and didn't really give her a choice." Jim's eyes narrowed at the young man.

"Was it important?"

"Daddy, I asked him to. I was just... I got overwhelmed." A tear rolled down her face. "I'm behind on some of my classes, and the whole thing with... and..." A sob escaped her lips, and Jim relented.

"Maria." He pulled her into his arms and she cried softly against his chest. "Just don't do that again. I was worried about you, I thought something might have happened."

"I'm sorry, daddy." Came her muffled reply.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her." Jim nodded to Michael who awkwardly nodded back. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next day at school, Maria was kind of in her own little world. Thinking about Michael, and his otherworldly status. And trying to figure out what exactly there was between them. He had dragged her into the Eraser room earlier that day between classes. She was twenty minutes late to History. And really, she didn't care. She liked the closeness she had with him. She cared about him, without a doubt.

"Hey Maria." She looked up and saw Max coming towards her. "Look, Maria I just wanted to-" He cut himself off when he noticed there was no mark on her face. "Apologize, for what happened yesterday."

"Forget it." Maria told him. "Just stay the hell away from me." She turned and quickly rushed down the hallway, leaving Max alone, with his anger growing. He found Michael between classes and dragged him outside.

"You healed her?" He yelled in a hushed voice.

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked, bored with the conversation already.

"Maria." Max growled. "Why was it okay for you to heal her? But I couldn't heal Liz?"

"Witnesses!" Michael yelled at him.

"She knows Michael. Do you get that? She knows, and you're the one that always told us we couldn't tell anyone. That no one could ever find out. And you told her? A complete stranger!"

"You don't get it." Michael told him.

"I loved her, I loved Liz. It's your fault she's dead. You let her die!"

"You don't get it! There is something about her!" Michael yelled back.

"What? What is so special about her?" Max snarled. "She's a complete ditz."

Michael clenched his fists at his sides. "She saw things."

"What?" Max laughed. "Saw what?"

"You wouldn't get it." Michael shook his head and walked away.

Maria was sitting beside Michael, Alex and Kyle across from them. They were sort of like this little family. Michael didn't hang out with Max and Isabel anymore. And Maria and Michael weren't official about dating, but it was obvious to anyone within a twenty mile radius of them that there was something there. "Hi." A girl's voice interrupted their chatter. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

Maria looked up at the girl, a small blond, with a sweet smile. Maria gestured to the bench. "No, not at all, join us." She glanced at Alex and Kyle, who were both out right staring at her. "And please, excuse them. They aren't used to pretty girls wanting to sit near them." She laughed softly.

"I'm Tess." The girl laughed.

"I'm Maria, this is Michael, Alex and Kyle."

"Hey." Michael nodded towards her, then Alex and Kyle echoed him.

"So you're new?"

"Yeah, my first day. Always the same." She shrugged.

"You've done this before?"

"Many times, my dad... military, we travel, a lot."

"That must be kind of neat though." Maria sighed. "I've never left New Mexico." She felt Michael's hand smooth over the small of her back and smiled a little.

Tess and Maria chatted through lunch, Alex and Kyle mostly just watched her, and Michael stayed pretty silent, but that wasn't anything out of the norm. After school Maria was shoving some books in her locker, Tess stood beside her, a notebook clutched to her chest. "So... you think maybe you could help me catch up in bio?"

"Sure. I've gotta work for a few hours tonight, but you can come by, I'll help you the best I can, I was out for almost a month, so I'm sort of behind myself. My friend Liz, she used to always help me out."

"But not anymore?" Tess asked, and noticed the look cross Maria's face.

"No." Maria said quietly, and Tess let it drop. "So, come by the Crashdown tonight?"

"Yeah, do you think, I might be able to get a job there?"

"Definitely, we really need a new waitress. Denise is pregnant, again. She'll be on maternity leave here pretty soon."

"Great." Tess smiled, and the two headed out to Maria's jetta.

At the diner Maria pulled on her uniform, and topped it off with her headband. Tess' eyes went wide for a moment. "Thats... the uniform?"

"Yeah, don't laugh, you're going to be wearing one of these soon enough." Maria pointed to the girl she had adopted as her new friend.

"Could the skirt be any shorter?" Tess asked tilting her head to the side a little.

"Better tips honey." Maria grinned and headed over to the cash register where Mr. Parker was sitting. He was so much just a shell since Liz had died. "Hey, Mr. Parker."

"Hi, Maria." He tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"So, there is this new girl at school, she was wondering if maybe she could get a job as a waitress here, I mean, with Denise leaving soon, we could really use the help." He nodded a little.

"You know where all the paper work is and everything."

"I know." She nodded.

"That's fine." He said and looked over at the blond girl sitting at the bar. "Welcome to Roswell." He nodded before getting up and disappearing into the back.

"Congratulations, you've got the job." Maria said grabbing the paperwork. "Just fill this out, I'll grab you a uniform."

An hour later Tess was dressed in the short aqua skirt, alien apron, and antenna. "I look like a freak." She muttered, staring down at her feet.

"Honey, if you look like a freak, so do I." Maria short her a dirty look, with a smirk. "Oh, your first customer." Maria said as she spotted Alex sliding into his usual booth.

"Mine?" Tess yelped.

"Yours. He'll be easy." Maria practically dragged Tess to the booth. "Go easy on her, you're her first customer. Tip her well." Maria glared at her him for a moment before heading over to another table to get their order.

"Hey." Alex smiled a little at her and she blushed.

"Hey." Tess grabbed her pen, and ticket book from her pocket. "What can I get you?"

"How about start with an orange soda."

"Sure." Tess smiled and walked behind the counter to get his drink.

"See, not so hard is it?" Maria smiled as she stuck her order on the wheel. She looked up hearing the bell over the door go off, and saw Michael walk in, a smile graced her features and she walked over to the booth where he joined Alex. "Hi."

"Hey."

Tess came over with the soda, and Maria leaned against the booth. "So, Kyle's not coming?" Alex asked and Maria shook her head.

"He still can't, the closest her came to coming inside, was sitting in his car the other day in the parking lot, I don't think he ever will." Maria sighed softly and cast a glance to the counter her friend had died next too. "Sometimes, I barely can."

"Why not?" Tess asked confused.

"Oh..." Maria shook her head a little. "Our friend, Liz, the one I mentioned earlier, she used to be a waitress here. But, she died. There was a shooting, some guys got into a fight over money, and a gun was pulled, Liz was shot. She died. Kyle was dating her at the time, he was pretty torn up. He hasn't been the same ever since." No one was the same. She knew that she wasn't.

"Oh, I'm, so sorry." Tess bit her lip. She felt bad for bringing it up.

"It's okay, she was Mr. Parker's daughter, that's why he's so... distant."

Maria was just finishing up cleaning up the restaurant. Michael was sitting at the counter watching her. She smiled over at him and twirled in a circle towards him. "You're staring."

"Yeah." He shrugged and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close to kiss her. She instantly melted into the kiss, her arms slid around his shoulders, and she felt one of his hands tangle in her hair. Kissing him was such an amazing feeling. She felt like she was floating. But she hadn't gotten any flashes. Not since the trailer. Maria pulled back with a frown. "What?" Michael asked confused.

"Why don't I get flashes anymore?" She asked. She'd liked how the made her feel.

"I don't know." Michael told her, and dropped his hand from her hair. He watched her sigh and turn away from him.

"I just want to be able to help you. And... if they were real... I don't know. Maybe we could have found something out." Maria shook her head. "Maybe since I was dying I was just more susceptible to them." She shrugged and disappeared into the back room. A few minutes later she reappeared dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, her uniform shoved into her book bag. "Alright, let's get out of here."

"You want to go for a drive?" He asked as they headed out to the Jetta.

"Not tonight." Maria shook her head a little and climbed into the passenger side.

"You're mad."

"What are you talking about?" She asked turning her head to look at him as he started the engine.

"You're mad because you haven't see any flashes. Maria, I don't know what to tell you."

"Forget it Michael, alright?" Maybe she wasn't as special as she thought she was. The drive to her house was silent. He pulled up in the driveway and without a word climbed out and took off down the sidewalk. "Michael!" She called after him, but he didn't even skip a beat, he just kept walking. Angrily she climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut before going into the house.

The next morning Maria got up and took a quick shower. She was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey sweetie." Jim said walking into the room. He kissed the top of her head, and grabbed a cup of coffee. "I'm going to be late tonight probably. Can you and Kyle get dinner okay?"

"Yeah dad, no problem." She looked up and smiled at him. He kissed her forehead and left the kitchen. She finished eating and grabbed her purse and drove to Michael's apartment. Slowly she walked up to the door and knocked softly.

A moment later the door opened and he was just standing there. "I just... wanted to talk to you."

"Come on in." He stepped back and let her in. Maria walked inside and bit her lip as she sat down on the couch.

"I just wanted to talk to you... to apologize. I know it isn't your fault I'm not getting the flashes. So I shouldn't get mad at you when it doesn't happen. I guess I just thought I was something special." She scoffed a little. "Should have known that was just my imagination."

"Maria..." Michael moved to sit beside her. "You are special. And it is my fault that you don't see anything when we kiss. I don't want you to. I've got some pretty messed up stuff in me. Stuff I Don't want you to see. I've never been open with anyone, always guarded, always closed off. And you... are so open. The things I've seen from you, it's beautiful. The good, the bad, all those things inside of you. It scares me to think of someone seeing those things inside of me. Because it'll mostly be the bad."

"But I already know the big stuff, don't I? Hank... the fact that you were hatched."

"But there is more to all of it." He told her.

Maria let out a soft sigh and nodded. "Okay, Michael, whenever you are ready then, to let me see. To let me in, I'll be here."

Michael glanced at her, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He felt an amazing sense of relief, for a while there, he'd thought he was going to loose this, loose her. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Kyle, come with us."

"No, Maria." He shook his head as he stared at the TV. "You're not going either."

"You can't stop me."

"I can call dad."

"But you wouldn't do that." Maria smiled and crawled up onto the couch beside her brother and snuggled up next to him. "Because you love me, and you want me to be happy, and if you come with us, I'll be happy."

"Maria..." He sighed. "Alright."

"Yay." She laughed and jumped off the couch. "Get ready. Tess will be here any minute."

"Tess." Kyle looked up at his sister.

"Yes. Tess." Maria watched as her brother scrambled to turn off the TV and took off down the hallway to his room. She laughed and paused in front of the mirror, she was wearing tight leather pants, and a backless top. She was looking forward to going out tonight.

Maria was standing with her friends, Michael wasn't there yet, since he had to close up at the Crashdown, but he'd told her to go ahead, and he'd come when he could. Part of her wished she'd ignored him and hung out at the Crashdown till he got off, but she was enjoying the loud music. She felt a hand on her hip and jumped before realizing it was Michael. "Hi." She smiled and threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him softly.

As time passed, they had all split up, Maria was trying to make Michael dance, but he just watched her. The way she swayed and rocked to the music. Kyle and Tess had disappeared, and Alex was chatting with a few of his other friends. They all seemed happy. She kissed Michael and whispered in his ear that she was going to go look for Tess. It didn't take her long to find her. In Kyle's arms. Making out in the back of someones pickup. Her jaw dropped. She hadn't been expecting that. But she was excited.

"Oh my god." She laughed when she found Michael again.

"What?"

"I just found Tess... and Kyle."

"Okay." Michael looked at her a little confused.

"Making out. I don't think Tess was wearing a shirt." Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Wipe that look off your face." Maria said pointing a finger at him. "You can't think like that about her. You're only supposed to think like that about me."

"Trust me, I do." He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "All the time." He brushed his lips across her ear. "When I'm in class... when I'm at work, watching you in your uniform... when I'm home alone. All it is, is you."

Maria blushed and smiled up at him. "Really?" She asked, suddenly feeling shy.

"Yeah." He nodded and tugged on her hand, leading her away from the mob of people. He cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply and suddenly.

Maria felt like her mind would explode. So overwhelmed by the feelings and emotions rolling through her. "Michael." She gasped and gripped his arms tightly. Then it started. The flashes. She gasped again. Everything spun around her. "Michael." She said again. And suddenly realize she was sitting down on a lone box, with Michael kneeling in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concern written across his face.

Maria just grinned at him. "You let me in."

"Might be the last time too." His brow furrowed.

"I'm okay Michael." She told him and touched his face.

"What did you see?"

"You, coming out of the pod." She whispered. "You saw Max and Isabel... and the headlights, and you ran the other way. You hid. Why?" He bowed his head. "You were scared?" Maria brushed her fingers through his hair. "I saw something else..."

"What?"

"Another set of pods." He looked up sharply. "I think it was in New York. There was another set."

"Another set?" She nodded.

"You're going to go aren't you? Find out..."

"I have to." He told her.

"You'll come back, right?" She had this look on her face. And it was breaking his heart. "You won't just find out some way to go home and leave without saying goodbye will you?"

"I'll come back, Maria."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Promise you'll be careful too."

"Maria..."

"Promise!" Maria cupped his face and looked into his eyes. "Michael, I have... lost a lot of people in my life. People that I loved very much. If it happens again...I don't know what'll happen."

Michael pulled her into his arms gently and smoothed down her hair. "I will be careful, I promise, I'll come back, no matter what I find." Michael suddenly felt this overwhelming sense of responsibility for her now. He had before, since that day at the trailer. But now it increased ten-fold.

Maria had just finished closing up the Crashdown, after getting off the phone with Michael. He was on his way back to Roswell. He told her he'd tell her all about it when he got home. But in short, he had found the other pods. She locked the door and headed for her car when she spotted someone in the shadows. Fear welled up in her stomach.

"Hey, Maria." She jumped and looked over, realizing it was Max.

"What do you want." She snapped at him.

"Wanted to talk to you about something."

"Leave me alone Max."

"Michael told me about the flashes." She froze. "That you see things when you guys kiss." Slowly she turned to face him. "What do you see?"

"None of your damn business." Maria told him.

"Huh...I wonder what you see... apparently you haven't seen much... or else you would know the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Maria asked, though she was determined to ignore him. Mentally she was telling herself to just walk off, get in her car. Go home. But she couldn't move. Her feet were planted where she stood.

"About Liz." Maria visibly flinched when he said her name. "About what happened... and what could have happened."

"What...?"

"You know I'm like Michael, you know how he healed that bruise... still sorry about that by the way. I wouldn't hit a girl intentionally... you just got in the way. Back on track here... I heal better than Michael. Much better. We were there that day. The day that Liz was shot. I could have healed her. I could have saved her."

"Then why didn't you!?" She yelled at him. "Why did you just let her die!"

An evil grin crossed Max's features. He grabbed her arm and kissed her hard, with bruising force. She saw images of Liz. Felt Max's love for her. Maria wrenched out his grasp and stared at him. "Stay the hell away from me." She hissed and ran to her car.

By the time she got home, her dad wasn't home yet, and Kyle was out with Tess. Once she was locked safely inside her room she began to cry. Convulsive sobs that wracked her whole body.

When she closed her eyes she was back at the Crashdown all those months ago. She watched herself walk away from Liz, refilling coffee cups. She heard herself scream. Max jumped up from the booth, Michael grabbed his arm, and literally dragged him out out of the diner.

Michael knew what Max was going to do, and he wouldn't let him. "No." She whispered. "No." She rushed back out of the house, and drove to Michael's apartment. He had given her a key, and she quickly let herself in. He couldn't have. He wouldn't. She sunk down onto the couch, and just cried.

Michael got home early the next morning. He wanted to take a shower before he talked to Maria. Before he told her about what he'd found. The other four. They were... He shook his head a little. A little scary. He let himself into his apartment and was surprised to find Maria already there. "Maria? What are you doing here?"

But she didn't respond. "Maria?" Michael asked as he walked over to her. She was in her own world, sitting on his couch, just staring. "Are you okay?" He lightly touched her arm and she looked up at him.

"Max came to the Crashdown last night."

"What happened?"

"He kissed me."

"What?" Michael asked, anger building up inside of him.

"I got flashes from him." Maria told him quietly, and then felt the couch shift as he sat beside her.

"What did you see?" He asked quietly.

"You let her die." Maria's voice was soft, and he strained to hear it. "How could you let her die?!" She exploded. Maria stood up and glared at him. "You let her just... she died in my arms! I had to watch my best friend die because you wouldn't let him heal her!"

"Maria-"

"No! How could you... its your fault she is dead. You're the reason Liz is dead. You. Because you wouldn't let Max help her!" Tears were rolling down her face and Michael stood up in front of her.

"What did you expect me to do Maria? Let Max heal her? Let the world find out what we are so they could throw up in some lab somewhere and test on us for the rest of our lives? Because that is what would have happened!" He yelled at her. "Everyone in that restaurant would have found out! One life for three lives. I guess it evens out."

Michael wasn't quite sure what happened, till he felt a stinging in the side of his face. She'd slapped him. Maria sure packed a punch for being so small.

"I never want to see you again." She hissed at him and a moment later he heard the front door slam shut. Then he could hear her outside, screaming, and kicking the door in anger. Then she was gone. Michael took a deep breath, walked down to his room, grabbed a duffel bag and threw some clean clothes in it and after checking to make sure Maria's car was gone, he got on his bike and left Roswell. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Maria drove to Tess' house, crying the whole way. He was so mean. She could hardly breathe through the sobs. She knocked on the door and wiped at her face, trying to brush away the tears. But they came faster than she could wipe them away. The door opened and Tess stood there, smiling until she saw Maria's tears.

"Oh, Maria, sweetie, what happened?" Quickly she pulled Maria inside and smoothed some hair back from her face.

"Michael-" Maria sobbed again.

"Did something happen to him?"

"We fought."

Tess let out a small sigh of relief. "You two got into a fight?" She pulled her over to the couch and sat down. Maria curled up in a ball, her head rest on Tess' thigh.

"It wasn't just a fight over something stupid... it was... huge."

"About what?"

"I can't..." Maria shook her head a little.

"I"m sure it'll be okay." Tess tried to reassure her, but Maria shook her head.

"No, it won't." Tess gently stroked Maria's hair, while she hoped it calmed her down. "It all fell apart. I've already lost so many people... my mom... Liz. Now Michael. I lost him too."

"I'm sure you didn't."

"But I did. It was something that... I really messed up. I was angry, I am angry, but it wasn't his fault. I knew it when I found out, but I wanted to be angry at someone. So I blamed him."

"Tell him that, Maria. Tell him that and it'll be okay." Maria didn't say anything for a long time, just laid there with her eyes closed.

"Thank you, Tess. For being here. For... being my friend."

"Any time Maria." She told her quietly. Sometime later, Maria had dozed off and Tess hadn't moved. Her cell phone rang and she picked it up quickly. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Kyle."

"Oh, hi Kyle. You looking for Maria?"

"She told my dad she was staying over there last night."

"She did?" Tess' brow furrowed. She'd spent most of the evening with Kyle. Just hanging out. He had talked to her, told her about Liz. And then he kissed her. And Tess knew she was in love. "She came over this morning, crying, she and Michael got into a fight."

Days had passed, and Isabel hadn't seen Michael anywhere. She went by his apartment, but he wasn't there. Max had been acting weirder than usual. She walked into the Crashdown and saw Maria sitting at the bar, sipping a cup of tea. "Maria." The shorter girl looked up and frowned. "Have you seen Michael?"

"No." She said shortly.

"Look, I know you don't like me, but, I'm worried. Michael has been gone for a few days, and Max has been weird. I know that something happened between them before, and I know you were somehow involved. I just want to know that he is okay."

"I haven't seen him Isabel." Maria sighed. "We got into a fight. I haven't seen him since. And let Max know, that if he ever comes near me again, he'll regret it."

Isabel stared at her for a moment before quickly leaving. Something had happened, and as usual, she was left out of the loop. She found her brother at home, staring at the TV, flipping through the channels. "What did you do Max?"

"What are you talking about Isabel?"

"To Michael, to Maria. What did you do!?" Max looked up at her and glared.

"Just let Maria know what kind of guy Michael really is."

"This is all because of Liz Parker isn't it? Isn't it?! Because you were there when she got shot, and Michael told you not to heal her? You know if you really wanted to you would have! You always said how much you loved her, but you were too scared!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Max yelled at her, throwing the remote at the TV.

"What did you do to Maria?" She asked, and Max smirked. "I don't know who you are anymore." She quickly left again and drove to Michael's apartment. She let herself in and glanced around. "Michael?" His bike was gone. She just hoped she'd find something, anything. But as she made her way though his apartment, she came to the realization, that he was gone.

Maria stood in the middle of Michael's apartment. Isabel had come and told her that Michael had left town, and Maria had felt like there was a weight, crushing her chest. That was her fault. He left because she told him to. And now she was alone. He was gone. Would he ever come back? His rent on the apartment expired at the end of the month, and she knew the landlord would just toss all his stuff, so Maria meticulously began packing all of Michael's belongings into boxes. Just in case, someday, he came back.

All of his CDs, mostly Metallica, packed into one box. The amazing number of books she stumbled across into another box. Clothes and bedding into other boxes. She was on her hands and knees, digging some stuff out from under his bed when she found a lone piece of paper. She shook her head and moved to crumple it and throw it away but she froze. It was a drawing. It was her.

She smoothed away the wrinkles and stared at it. It was a sketch of her, curled up and asleep on the couch. Her hair was a mess, mouth partly open, surely she had been drooling all over the arm she was using as a pillow. "What did I do?" She whispered softly. "Michael..." Suddenly she felt sick, bile rising in her throat. He left, and she would never see him again, and all she wanted was for him to hold her. Maria lunged for the bathroom.

The sobs she'd kept down so well over the last week, since the day they fought. The day he left, suddenly erupted. She cried and screamed, fell to her knees crying, before standing and pounding her fists against the wall. "Why did you leave!" She screamed. "I didn't mean it!"

But it was too late. Too bad. She was alone. She was angry at Max. Angry that he touched her, that he kissed her. That he forced her to see something she never wanted to see again. Her best friend die. While she had held the towels against her stomach, trying to slow the bleeding. Max had leapt to his feet. Michael said no. And Max listened.

But that was the thing, Max never listened to Michael. Ever. Ever. So why then? When it was something so important, did Max stop? Why did Max obey Michael? It wasn't Michael's fault, and Maria knew that. She did know that. But she couldn't tell Michael that now. "I'm so sorry." She whispered and crawled up onto the bed, his pillow was still laying there, and she wrapped herself around it and stared at the sketch of herself. "Come home." She whispered quietly.

But he didn't listen.

Five Years Later.

Maria was exhausted. She had just worked a double shift at the Crashdown, and had to sit through a three hour lecture on ... she couldn't even remember. What class had it even been? She rolled her eyes and fumbled with the lock to her apartment. The door had a habit of sticking so she shoved it with her shoulder and stumbled in. Maria didn't bother to turn on the light. She was too tired. She kicked off her shoes, and threw her purse on the floor after closing the door, and locking it.

She started to strip off her uniform, unsnapping the buttons as she headed for the hallway. In the back of her mind she was debating between a long hot bubble bath, and just crawling into bed. She got to the bathroom and flipped on the light, and instantly closed her eyes. It was too damn bright. She sighed and tossed her uniform onto the floor and turned on the water in the tub. She added a few drops of bubble bath and turned to grab the pack of matches she kept in the wicker box on the counter by the sink.

Maria lit a few candles and went to pin her hair up when she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly looked towards the door but nothing was there. She swallowed hard. She knew she was just imagining things. She was safe, and locked up tight inside her own apartment. No one else was there. It was just her. She bit her lip and unhooked her bra, and stepped out of her panties and climbed into the bath tub. She leaned back, and willed herself to just relax. She knew she was imagining things, she was tired.

She took a breath and laid back, with her eyes closed. "Relax." She quietly commanded herself, and let the warmth of the water calm her.

Sometime later, she wasn't sure how long she'd been in the tub, but the water was starting to cool off, and she knew that her fingers and toes were turning to prunes. Slowly she opened her eyes, and then opened her mouth to scream when she saw a form leaning over the tub towards her.

Maria screamed, but a hand clamped down over her mouth. She slid on the bottom of the tub and went under water. She began to thrash her arms and legs violently. A moment later she was being pulled from the tub, and she saw her worst nightmare leering at her. Hank Whitmore. He kept his hand over her mouth and she couldn't breathe. She was trying to get away from him, but she couldn't break free.

He dragged her down the hallway to her bedroom, and he shoved her back on the bed. Maria tried to get back up. His hand was away from her mouth for a split second, she started to scream. Then she felt a cold knife blade against her throat. Maria sobbed. "Please don't kill me. Please." She sobbed, and was chilled to the bone when he laughed.

"Yeah, you just keep beggin' like that. I like the way it sounds." He grinned at her, and laughed again when she cried harder.

Maria's eyes focused on the clock beside her bed for a moment. The glowing red numbers told her it was well after three in the morning. She rolled onto her side, and protectively wrapped her arms around herself. She was alone again. She had heard him leave, after threatening her life if she told anyone. The door had slammed shut, and she was alone. Always alone. Slowly she sat up, pain exploded throughout her body as she moved. But she forced herself to stand.

Maria first went to the front door and locked it, then checked every single window and door in her apartment, making sure they were locked before walking down the hall to the bathroom. This time, turning on every light as she went. There was blood on the carpet, trailing from the bathroom to her bedroom, she soon discovered from the cut on the back of her head.

She drained the water in the tub, grabbed a towel and wiped up all the water, and blood on the tile that she could before climbing into the shower, the hot water on full blast, as she tried to wash away the feeling that he left on her skin. The water ran cold by the time Maria climbed out of the shower, she dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, and focused on cleaning again. She pulled all the blankets off her bed, and put on fresh sheets, her other blankets shoved into a garbage bag. Then she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the blood from the carpet.

The sun came up, and Maria felt exhausted. Her entire apartment was cleaner than when she had moved in. She wanted to sleep, but she was afraid to. She had school, and work, but she wasn't leaving her apartment. At one point during the night, while she had been cleaning, she had moved her favorite over-sized chair in front the front door. The handles to her broom and mop were jimmied in the windows.

Maria sunk down onto the couch, a cup of coffee in her hand, when her cell phone rang. She jumped, startled by the noise, her coffee slushed out of the mug and onto the table. She looked at the phone 'Alex Calling' it read and she shoved her phone under the couch cushion. Muffling the incessant ringing.

She curled up on her side on the couch, and yanked the blanket off the back and pulled it over her head. Maybe she could just hide from the outside world, and it wasn't real. It never happened. She could just forget about it. And it wasn't real. And it was five years again, and she was curled up on Michael's couch, taking a nap. He was in the shower, after having just got off work. He'd come down the hall, sit on the couch, maybe rub her feet, maybe lay with her while he turned on a hockey game. Or maybe just hold her. Touch her. Kiss her.

Suddenly she felt nauseas and ran down the hall for the bathroom. She rested her head against the counter, after purging what was left in her stomach. And she just sat there. Eyes closed. "Just let me sleep, and not think of him." She begged anyone that would listen. "Please." 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Who is that?" Benny asked glancing down at the sketch Michael was doing.

"Huh?" Michael asked glancing up. Benny was a nice guy, they shared a flat, with a few other people. Artists, all in their own mind. For the most part they had been at least a little successful, after all, that was how they paid the bills. And Santa Fe was the perfect place for them. Michael glanced back down at the paper and sighed. "Just a girl I used to know." Five years. Five very long years since he had seen her. He'd pretty much managed to block her from his mind during those five years, but a few weeks ago she filled his mind and wouldn't leave him alone. He found himself constantly thinking about her, and sketching her, painting her. Maria.

"She's pretty." Benny told him. Both glanced towards the door, hearing the doorbell. "I got it." Benny disappeared for a moment.

"I'm looking for Michael Guerin."

"Hey, Mikey." Benny called. With a frown Michael got up and headed for the door. He was greeted by a middle aged woman, in a drab gray suit.

"You're a difficult young man to track down Mr. Guerin."

"Can I help you?" He asked her.

"My name is Rachel, I am with Social Services, I worked on your case, before and after your emancipation."

"Okay." Michael vaguely remembered her now. "What did you need from me?"

"We've been trying to track you down for a few weeks now, Hank Whitmore..." The woman took a breath, and Michael hoped she would tell him that Hank had died in a horrible prison beating. "Has been released from jail."

"What?!" Michael exploded. "Why?!"

"Good behavior, and a lack of room in the prisons."

"Good behavior?! Does it matter that he nearly killed a girl?!"

"Had she died, he probably wouldn't have gotten out." The social worker told him sadly.

"Did anybody tell her? Tell Maria?" The woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry, no, I don't believe so. We notify the 'family' in your case, since he did abuse you, we felt you needed to know." Michael didn't bother to stop and listen to anymore. He ran back to the table he'd been at, grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

Maria sat at a table at the Crashdown, staring at a now cold mug of coffee. "Maria? Do you mind if I sit?" She glanced up and saw Isabel sitting there.

"Go for it." She sighed. Fantastic.

"You look terrible." Isabel told her and Maria let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Thanks for your concern."

"Alex is worried about you."

"Is that why you're here?" Maria asked.

Isabel let out a quite sigh. "Actually, yeah, it is. I just... I care about Alex, a lot. And... I guess I want to know that you're okay with us. That you aren't going to tell Alex I'm really just some horrible monster."

"What do you care?"

"You're his best friend. I know you don't like me. You never have... but I guess..." She sighed, and Maria saw the amazing vulnerability that Isabel never showed before.

"My approval?"

"Yeah." She shrugged a little. "I guess that's it. It could be love... what Alex and I have. I want to be with him. But I can't if you aren't okay with it."

"It is Alex's life." Maria shrugged.

"Don't do that Maria. Don't do that. Look, you are his best friend, he looks to you for everything. And I know that if you don't want us together, that he's going to listen to that... maybe he'll try for a while. Maybe we'll be doing really great, but it's just going to take you saying one little thing, and my life will go up in smoke. He'll leave me because of you."

"No, he wouldn't." Maria whispered. "He won't leave you, because he loves you."

"He loves you too."

"It's not the same."

"This is really about Michael, isn't it?" Isabel asked.

"You blame me for him leaving."

"I don't blame you. You guys fought, whatever, but he was my family, my brother, and you took him away from me."

"I didn't." Maria insisted. "Max pushed him away. I just happened to be there."

"I dream walked him, after he left." Isabel's voice was quiet. "He said he was never coming back. You told him to leave."

Tears stung Maria's eyes. "I was angry. We were fighting. People say stupid things when they are angry." A tear rolled down her face and she pushed away the coffee mug, and dug into her purse for some change. "You don't even know what we fought about, you couldn't possibly begin to understand what happened... what... what it was." She threw the money on the table and stood up quickly. "If Alex wants to screw up his life with you, at least let him know what he's getting himself into." She hissed and then vanished out the door a moment later. She spend the whole way to her apartment and rushed inside. Then quickly flipped the locks.

What should have been a two hour drive, Michael managed in less than an hour. Maria. He had to find her. To warn her. To tell her. He sped through town, and realized he didn't know where she was. He drove past the Valenti's house, Jim was still living there apparently, but Maria and Kyle's cars were gone. He continued driving, his mind stuck on her. He couldn't stop thinking of her. He nearly totaled his bike when he spotted her car at an apartment complex. He got off quickly and ran up the stairs, his hand grazing the guard rail. And he saw her. He saw Maria, a flash, walking up the stairs, keys in hand, pale face, dark circles under her eyes.

Up the stairs he jogged past a door, then another. And another, then he froze. She was there. Inside. He lightly touched the door, another flash hit him, nearly knocking him off his feet. Hank. A sinister grin on his face as he used a pocket knife to slice open the screen on the window next to the front door.

Without a second thought Michael waved his hand over the door, opening the locks before shoving open the door. The scene that he approached confused him. Maria. Sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, reading a book. She looked up alarmed. He saw the fear in her eyes for a moment. Then it was gone and she was just staring at her.

"What the hell?" Her voice cracked slightly.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked, the worry evident in his voice.

"I'm... fine...What are you doing here?"

"Hank." He noticed the way her entire body trembled when he said his name. "He was released from jail a few weeks ago, I just found out. I had to tell you." He shook his head and glanced at the still open door. "I touched the door, and I saw Hank, breaking into your apartment." He closed the door and started to move towards her, he could see the tears in her eyes. "He was here, wasn't he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Maria looked up at him, her face cold, and angry. "What are you doing in Roswell?"

"I told you-"

"I thought you weren't coming back."

"You're the one that told me to leave."

"Then why did you come back?"

Michael stared at her, his brow furrowed. "Because I..." He shook his head. "Fuck it." He turned around and left the apartment again quickly. He slammed the door hard behind him, jogged back down the stairs, got on his bike and left. He didn't go too far, he pulled up at the Crashdown and walked inside. Isabel was sitting at a booth, with Alex Whitman, talking quietly. "Iz..." He sighed.

"Michael!" Isabel shrieked and jumped up from the booth. She launched herself into his arms and held him tightly.

"Hey, Isabel." He sighed and hugged her. At least someone was happy to see him. "You look good."

"You look, like shit." Isabel cupped his face and looked at him carefully. "You're not sleeping are you?" He shrugged a little. "But you're home." She smiled. "For how long?"

"Don't know." He glanced at Alex. "Hey." But Alex just shot him a dirty look. "Okay, what did I do?"

"You broke her heart."

"She told me to leave." Michael shook his head. This wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for. "She screamed and yelled, and she hit me." Alex's mouth fell open slightly.

"Why did you fight?"

Michael shook his head. "That's between me and her." A second later Michael was on his back, blood dripping from his nose, staring up at a very angry Kyle.

"You asshole." Kyle spat out.

"Yeah, missed you too Kyle." He glared and then saw Tess standing a few feet away, panic written across her face. "Tess." She paled. "Good to see you too." He shook his head. "She is the one that told me to leave! She wanted me to leave. So I did. And you know what? I think I will again." Michael stormed out of the diner, wiping the blood from his upper lip.

It was late that same night, Tess was curled up in her bed, in her small studio apartment. Everyone was mad, and on edge. Because of that her nerves were completely shot. She couldn't take all their anger, so she had bailed on Kyle early. She felt bad, but his emotions were making her entire body freak out. She was laying in bed, wide awake. Staring at the dark ceiling.

There was a knock on the door and she jumped. She glanced towards the door, and then jumped up, pulling a sweatshirt on over her skimpy tank top as she walked towards the door. It was most likely Kyle. She opened the door part way, the chain keeping it from opening far, and spotted Michael standing there.

"I need to talk to you." He said and Tess nodded quickly. She shut the door, undid the chain and yanked the door open again. Michael walked in, and Tess flipped on a lamp.

"What's up...?" She asked cautiously.

"I ..." He sighed and turned to look at her. "I knew there was something about you. I just didn't know what... I tried to ignore it. Because it just couldn't be. I knew it wasn't. Until I went to New York. And it all came together."

"Michael? What are you talking about?"

"The other set." Her mouth fell open slightly. "Of us." Michael looked at her, her features doing their best not to give anything away. "Ava." He breathed and watched as her features crumbled. "My sweet, Ava."

"Rath!" She cried and flung herself into his arms, sobbing against his shoulder. "I didn't know!" She cried. "I didn't know!"

"I know." He whispered against her ear, holding her even tighter.

Finally, Tess felt like she was home.

Michael had made his appearance days ago, and Maria was freaked out by it. Hank was out of jail. That explained everything. It wasn't just a dream. She was laying on her bed, reading her favorite book for at least the twentieth time. The book was tattered, the pages dog-eared. But it was familiar. It was safe. There was a small lamp beside her bed, casting the room in a soft yellow light. Her cell phone sat on the edge of her nightstand, always within reach.

She heard a creak, and she froze. Then another sound. The apartment was locked up tight, she was safe. Maria extended her hand out towards her phone, and picked it up slowly. Mentally deciding who to call. Kyle was probably with Tess, but maybe, he would come over. Just so she could get a few hours of sleep. She flipped open the phone and started flipping through the list of numbers, Alex was first on the list. She paused for a moment. She didn't want to cause problems between Alex and Isabel, she she continued down the list. She heard a creaking sound in the hall.

Maria looked up quickly at the door, cracked part way open, letting in light from the night light that was in the hallway. A shadow. She looked back down at her phone, it was on Kelly's number. A girl she had a class with. Maria hit the call button. Her bedroom door flew open and she screamed.

Hank.

Maria heard the phone ring, and ring, and then ring again. "Hello?" A sleepy voice answered and Maria opened her mouth, but Hank was there, wrenching the phone from her grip, he shut it and threw it across the room.

"Please no." She begged softly, staring up at him. Not again. She couldn't, not again.

Maria was detached from her body. Blocking out the pain. Her body lay there, non responsive. Doing her best to ignore the brutal attack. In her mind she was somewhere else. She was five years earlier, laying on the floor of Michael's apartment, his arms around her waist, holding her gently, telling her about the flashes he had gotten from her.

And then she was back in the present. Hank was climbing off her aching body, she glanced towards the clock, the bright red numbers read twelve am. Nearly two hours of pain and abuse had gone by. It felt like a lifetime.

Maria was curled up on her side, Hank was pulling on his clothes, and she could hear him moving around her room. "Kill me." She breathed. He stopped moving and looked at her. "Please, just kill me." Her voice came out as a sob. "If you don't... I will."

Hank just shrugged, he opened his knife again, and walked over to where Maria was still laying naked on the bed. He admired her body for a moment before pushing on her shoulder, leaning her back, and shoving the knife into her belly, just below her ribs. Her mouth opened, a pained expression crossed her features, and a sob tore from her lips. He yanked the knife back out, and she coughed, blood spurting over her pale lips.

Maria rolled back onto her side, and pulled her knees up to her chest protectively. Holding herself, hiding herself, welcoming the pain that was ebbing over her body. Her blood was warm and sticky, and she wondered how long it would take for the pain to stop, for death to wrap its arms around her.

Michael was in a panic. Pain. And a layer of fear under that. But the pain was the worst. He got on his bike, and broke a few speed limits as he drove to Maria's apartment. He ran up the stairs three at a time, the pain got stronger. He pushed open the door, and he heard a sound, Maria. Pure pain.

He ran down the hallway and the scene that greeted him gave him one thought. Hank would pay. Maria was curled up on her side, naked, the the bloody sheet was covering part of her bloody thigh. Blood. Everywhere. On her face, on her stomach, soaking the bed beneath her. Hank, smirking, as he pulled on his clothes.

"That's how you handle a woman, boy." Michael stared for a moment. Maria wasn't moving, and it didn't look like she was breathing either. There was so much blood, he wasn't sure there was any chance she was even still alive. So Michael did the one and only thing he could think of. He raised his hand towards Hank, and the pot bellied man flew backwards into the wall with a grunt.

And then Michael was on him, hitting him as hard as he could. Alien strength coming in handy. Hank tried to fight back, but all the pent up anger, rage, hate, and fear surfaced, and nothing was stopping Michael. Blow after blow. Anywhere Michael could strike he did. Even after Hank stopped fighting back he kept swinging. The ringing of Maria's cell phone is what brought him out of his daze. He looked down, more blood. All over his hands, Hank was covered in it, bruised, broken, bloody.

Michale jumped up and ran to Maria's side, pulling out his cell phone on the way. He dialed 9-1-1 and tried to wipe Hank's blood from his hand before he pressed it against what Michael thought was the cause of Maria's bleeding. But there was so much blood he couldn't tell, until he felt it. The large gash, just below her rips. "Maria? Baby, wake up." He breathed out, his other hand coming up to brush some hair from her face. "Wake up." He whispered, and silently prayed to the powers that be, that Maria's eyes would flutter open, that she would look at him. That she would breathe again. He felt for a pulse, there, but barely. Her chest was moving so slowly and shallowly that he couldn't tell she was even breathing. "Please." He begged, tears suddenly streaming down his face. "Don't die, Maria." He leaned forward and buried his face in her throat.

He vaguely heard the sirens, then the sound of the paramedics yelling from the doorway, their heavy boots running down the hall. Gasps as they realized the sight before them. Cursing as they realized Jim Valenti's daughter was bleeding to death in front of them.

Deputy Hanson showed up as the ambulance left, Michael was sitting on the bed, staring down at his blood soaked hands. "What happened son?" He asked, and Michael glanced towards Hank's prone body.

"He... killed her." Michael swallowed and looked at his hands again. "So I killed him." Hanson pulled on a pair of plastic gloves and walked over to the broken man's body and felt for a pulse. Sure enough.

"He deserved it." Hanson shrugged. "Why don't I give you a lift to the hospital?"

"No." Michael shook his head, and stood up and walked out of the apartment, down the stairs to his bike, and sped off, in the opposite direction of the hospital. 


End file.
